


Cocktober 8: Complete Darkness AKA Big, Brave Stevie

by Glitter_Bug



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy makes it better, Fluff, It's mostly just silly and fluffy, M/M, Steve is afraid of the dark, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26898940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitter_Bug/pseuds/Glitter_Bug
Summary: Steve doesn't like the dark, so he keeps the lights on a lot.His electricity bill is...shocking.(I couldn't resist...)Oh, and Billy helps him. Because he's actually a sweetheart.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 18
Kudos: 101
Collections: Cocktober Prompt Meme





	Cocktober 8: Complete Darkness AKA Big, Brave Stevie

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty much just sweet, silly fluff.  
> Barely proof-read, so hey! Lemme know if you spot any errors.   
> Warnings for swearing and Steve getting a little panicky, but honestly I think that's it.  
> (Let me know if I've missed anything)

Steve did not like the dark. At all.

Never had.

And that was OK when he was a little kid. Was acceptable and understandable _._ Totally normal. He would settle into bed, his mom would read him a bedtime story, give him a kiss goodnight and then flick on the little nightlight beside his bed. The glowy one that filled his room with a low light and projected stars onto his ceiling, chasing away any nasty shadows that looked like monsters or goblins or scary robbers who wanted to carry him away. 

And Steve would sleep all the way through the night with no trouble at all.

But then he’d gotten bigger, too big for bedtime stories and goodnight kisses and, it turns out, for a nightlight. 

His father had removed it on the morning of his tenth birthday, said it was _embarrassing_ that it had stayed this long, and that Steve would just have to _get over it._ As soon as he left, Steve stood up straight, made himself look taller and bigger. He _was_ older now- double figures- so probably he just wasn’t going to be afraid anymore, maybe that was how it worked. Like how he’d gone to sleep one day not knowing how to whistle, and then the next day he’d been able to trill like a little canary. Maybe getting brave was like that too?

Steve looked around his room, the yellow walls looking bright and cheerful in the morning sun, reflecting off his baseball trophies and scattering little rainbows onto the ceiling. It was a happy room, safe and secure. Nothing to be scared of at all. 

He was ten now. He was brave.

Steve didn’t think about his bedtime for the rest of the day, too distracted by presents and cake and a pool full of his best friends from school, but the evening rolled round quickly- as evenings tend to do when you’re ten and having fun- and Steve’s house became quieter and emptier and darker as his friends left one by one.

And then it was bedtime.

And Steve was ten, ok, he was brave now. Bedtime was no big deal.

So he said goodnight to his parents and set off; up the big, creaky, wooden stairs all by himself. 

And into his room.

His sunny yellow cheerful room which was now looking a lot more dark and grey and gloomy. There were shadows he’d never seen before, and he really didn’t like the look of the dark space next to his desk, there could’ve been _anything_ lurking there. His curtains definitely shouldn’t bulge out in the middle like that, so there was probably something hiding there too. 

Steve flicked on the lamp beside his bed and the shadows retreated immediately. The dark space next to his desk just contained a bin full of candy wrappers. The curtains returned to normal.

But still,

Better safe than sorry.

This was ok, he rationalised, it wasn’t a nightlight. His mom and dad had lamps beside their bed too, and they were big brave grown-ups.

He was just dropping off to sleep when his father peered round the door.

“Lights out, Steve,” he said sternly. 

And Steve obeyed. His hand shook a little and his stomach twisted fiercely but he obeyed. He was big now, after all, and big boys don’t need to sleep with the light on.

He was brave.

He flicked the light off and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. 

Maybe the monsters won’t see him if he doesn’t look at them.

Even if they’re there. Lurking. 

He could be brave and scared at the same time. 

He didn’t get much sleep that night.

**

Steve never slept well after that. 

Not until his parents stopped checking up on him. 

When they stopped noticing whether Steve had left his light on because they stopped noticing whether he went to bed or whether he even came home that night at all; when they started spending their nights in hotel rooms in different cities, in different countries. 

And at first, Steve would just leave his lamp on. Didn’t mind the brightness, preferred it to the dark and the shadows and the _fear._

But then he learnt the truth about what lurked in the Hawkins’ shadows. The things with teeth and claws. The things that roamed in the woods and lurked by his pool and kept him awake once more.

And Steve was _brave_. He stood his ground, he swallowed his fears, he faced the monsters and he protected the kids.

But he was still scared.

So Steve started leaving more lights on. Left them glowing night and day, just so he’d never have to risk the darkness. He kept one of the kitchen cupboards well stocked with spare bulbs, changing them out immediately if they started flickering or dimming or just hadn’t been replaced in a while. Didn’t want to risk it.

Nancy had said she understood, but Steve could see the way she winced whenever she slept over, tossing and turning all night, pressing her face into the pillow; the way her eyes were surrounded by dark circles in the morning. He wasn’t surprised when she stopped wanting to come over as much. 

Not that it mattered that much in the end. 

Steve hoped, somewhat desperately, that she was at least getting a decent night’s sleep with Jonathan. She deserved it.

****

Billy hadn’t seemed to mind the lights at all. Hadn’t even commented on them, which was a surprise as he had an opinion on damn near everything else in Steve’s house. 

He mocked the stilted, stiffly-posed family portraits, howling with laughter at the one with Steve in a little sailor suit. “Nautical is definitely your style, Stevie, I see why you liked the Scoops job so much.” 

He let out a low whistle at the expensive sofa, “Wonder how many times your mom and dad have done it on here? Bet they put down towels and everything first. Finest Egyptian cotton, of course, only the best for Mrs. Harrington’s delicate ass.” 

He licked his lips at the giant bed in Steve’s parents’ bedroom. “You ever been fucked on a Cali King _by_ a Cali King, baby? Oh we’re gonna have some fun in here tonight.” 

He shook his head in disgust at the contents of Steve’s kitchen, “Vitamins, pretty boy? You heard of them? They live in fruit and veggies- not in PopTarts and, what even is this? Mac and cheese in a mug? Oh Stevie…”

But the ever-present lights, Billy never mentioned. Steve saw him reach out to the light switch a couple of times, force of habit whenever he left a room, but he always stopped himself just in time. He didn’t even mention it at night, would just curl his body around Steve’s, or grab Steve’s arms and pull them around himself, and fall almost immediately to sleep- little huffy snores filling the room and helping to lull Steve into the best sleep he’d had for years. 

It worked. They worked. 

Because Steve could keep his lights, and he could keep Billy and he could have both things at the same time and he was sleeping and he wasn’t scared and he was _happy_. 

But then there was the storm. 

The storm that blew through Hawkins and suddenly took out the power. The phones. The electricity. The lights. 

The storm that came on the night that Billy was late home from work, leaving Steve in his house, alone. In the darkness. 

Without even the shadows.

Because to make a shadow, there needs to be light, and there was none of that around. Not a sliver of moonlight or streetlight or anything for Steve to cling to. He didn’t even have his lighter in his pocket, didn’t dare to go and grab the torch he kept by the door in the kitchen.

Steve was frozen in terror.

He sank to the ground. 

Wrapped his arms around his knees and pressed his head down onto them. Closed his eyes tight. Maybe the monsters won’t see him if he doesn’t look at them.

“Steve?” 

Steve jolted upright. It had only been minutes. Or maybe it had been hours. Steve didn’t know. 

He looked around the dark room. Wasn’t even sure where he was. Couldn’t remember where he was when all the lights went out.

“There you are!” 

Steve looked around to see Billy walking towards him. And he could _see_ Billy, could see him in the darkness because he was carrying a light. A small, round, glowing thing.

Billy knelt down beside him, placing the little light on the floor. 

“You OK?” Billy asked, running his hand down Steve’s arm, “I didn’t realise it was so bad here, woulda been home sooner if I’d known.”

“I’m fine,” Steve leant into Billy’s warmth, into the little pool of yellow light around him, “it was just...sudden. And everywhere. I just panicked.” He reached down to pick up the glowing splodge, “A nightlight?” he smiled, and then he turned it round, noticed the details on the front- the black dots for eyes. The tiny yellow beak. The red crest on the top of its head. 

Steve laughed out loud, his eyes crinkling as he took in the _adorable_ object in front of him. “Did you get me a chicken nightlight?” 

Billy was quiet for a minute, and Steve moved back so he could look at him, could take in the way he was looking down at the floor, suddenly shy. The nightlight cast a golden glow onto his face, making him look even more full of sunshine than usual. His curls shone like a halo and Steve thought, not for the first time, how damn lucky he was.

“I get why you need the lights” Billy said, his voice soft, “it doesn’t bother me at all, I promise.” Billy looked up at Steve, sincerity in his eyes, “Honestly, Steve, you know I can sleep through anything.” He looked down again, “But I just thought... it might be nice to have something a little more...atmospheric.”

“So you picked a chicken?” Steve couldn’t hide the humour in his voice. He picked the light up again and grinned at its cuteness, “What kind of atmosphere were you thinking of creating?” 

“Asshole!” Billy gave him a shove, “I picked up the wrong damn box. I left it in my car until I got a chance to return it, but then I figured we’d need it tonight. It’s battery powered, so we don’t need to worry about the electricity. Probably can’t return it now…” 

Steve rolled the chicken light around in his hands, flicking a finger at its yellow beak, “Yeah, no way you’re returning it. I love it.”

“Yeah?” Billy smiled, 

Steve pointed to the bumpy red crest on the light’s head, “Look- it’s not a chicken. It’s a boy. It’s a _cock!”_

Billy crowed in delight, “Oh hell yeah! So it is! Well there we go Stevie- now you know the atmosphere I’ve been wanting. The kind that’s just right for cock.” 

“Wanna go see what it looks like in the bedroom?” Steve asked, getting up to his feet and holding out a hand for Billy.

“Lead the way Stevie,” Billy grinned, “And bring that glorious cock with you.” 


End file.
